ICAP, the interdealer broker which saw three staff arrested in last week's FBI swoop on New York's foreign exchange desks, has commissioned its own inquiry into the alleged currency scam.
ICAP, the world's largest broker serving financial market dealers, said it had hired external lawyers to probe the fraud claims behind last week's FBI sting, which led to 47 people being charged. The charges, following an operation code-named Wooden Nickel, related to stock and wire fraud, extortion, kickbacks, rigged trading, money laundering, guns and cocaine.
ICAP admitted on Wednesday that three brokers at its Harlow subsidiary, based in New Jersey, were among those arrested.
The company said today: "The group is co-operating fully with the government's investigation of these staff. As far as we can determine, we do not believe that ICAP itself as suffered any direct financial loss."
The comments came as ICAP unveiled underlying pre-tax profits up 47 per cent at £85.4 million for the April-to-September period on turnover up 31 per cent at £407.7m.
Takings from deals in fixed income markets soared as low borrowing costs and depleted state coffers prompted a rash of fresh bond releases.
"There was significant new issuance as G7 governments' budget deficits ballooned," ICAP said.
"Corporate issuers grabbed at the opportunity created by continuing low interest to strengthen their balance sheets and new international issue grew in the first nine months of 2003 by 39 per cent in Europe and 22 per cent in North America."
In derivatives markets, trade in foreign exchange sectors were "especially buoyant", with the currency option market expanding by 42 per cent compared with the previous six months.
The takeover in May of BrokerTec, the electronic broking business, had achieved benefits ahead of forecast, and allowed ICAP to develop automatic systems for complementing its traditional voice broking operations. Electronic broking volumes averaged $221 billion a day in the July-to-September period.
Michael Spencer, ICAP chief executive, said: "The performance of BrokerTec has even been better than our original expectations.
"ICAP's electronic broking activities are now profitable."
ICAP was in a "strong position" in both voice and electronic broking markets, he added. The company targeted an increase to "more than 30 per cent", from 26 per cent, in its overall market share.
ICAP also announced a five-for-one split of its shares which, having surged 580 per cent in four years, had reached a level" that might impair their marketability and liquidity".
ICAP shares, which fell below 860p in February, stood 20p higher at 1400p in early trade.
ICAP, the world's largest broker serving financial market dealers, said it had hired external lawyers to probe the fraud claims behind last week's FBI sting, which led to 47 people being charged. The charges, following an operation code-named Wooden Nickel, related to stock and wire fraud, extortion, kickbacks, rigged trading, money laundering, guns and cocaine.
ICAP admitted on Wednesday that three brokers at its Harlow subsidiary, based in New Jersey, were among those arrested.
The company said today: "The group is co-operating fully with the government's investigation of these staff. As far as we can determine, we do not believe that ICAP itself as suffered any direct financial loss."
The comments came as ICAP unveiled underlying pre-tax profits up 47 per cent at £85.4 million for the April-to-September period on turnover up 31 per cent at £407.7m.
Takings from deals in fixed income markets soared as low borrowing costs and depleted state coffers prompted a rash of fresh bond releases.
"There was significant new issuance as G7 governments' budget deficits ballooned," ICAP said.
"Corporate issuers grabbed at the opportunity created by continuing low interest to strengthen their balance sheets and new international issue grew in the first nine months of 2003 by 39 per cent in Europe and 22 per cent in North America."
In derivatives markets, trade in foreign exchange sectors were "especially buoyant", with the currency option market expanding by 42 per cent compared with the previous six months.
The takeover in May of BrokerTec, the electronic broking business, had achieved benefits ahead of forecast, and allowed ICAP to develop automatic systems for complementing its traditional voice broking operations. Electronic broking volumes averaged $221 billion a day in the July-to-September period.
Michael Spencer, ICAP chief executive, said: "The performance of BrokerTec has even been better than our original expectations.
"ICAP's electronic broking activities are now profitable."
ICAP was in a "strong position" in both voice and electronic broking markets, he added. The company targeted an increase to "more than 30 per cent", from 26 per cent, in its overall market share.
ICAP also announced a five-for-one split of its shares which, having surged 580 per cent in four years, had reached a level" that might impair their marketability and liquidity".
ICAP shares, which fell below 860p in February, stood 20p higher at 1400p in early trade.
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